Stop mincing words on Syrian aid

The Obama administration's emerging support for rebels in Syria is a welcome move, although it comes too late to help the estimated 70,000 people who have died in the past two years as President Bashar Assad wages a desperate fight to maintain his dictatorial grip on the country.

The administration's hesitant approach to the Syrian conflict has been based, in large part, on fear of the unknown. Unlike in Libya, officials knew little about the insurgents fighting Assad. They feared arms sent to the rebels would wind up in the hands of anti-American Islamist terrorists.

Countries in the region with the greatest self-interest in getting rid of the corrupt Assad regime - mainly, Saudi Arabia - were unwilling to act, hoping the U.S. would take care of the problem for them.

That did not suit President Barack Obama's policy, which favors acting in tandem with regional allies rather than taking action unilaterally. Nor did greater involvement in a Middle East war fit the mood of an American public weary of overseas military commitments.

However, those arguments no longer can be sustained in view of the Syrian regime's increasingly brutal and cowardly tactics, such as the deliberate targeting of hospitals and medical professionals, and Assad's near-certain defeat.

Even the cautious Saudis finally have been moved to act, reportedly financing a large weapons shipment to nationalist and secular factions within the rebel movement in an effort to stop the slaughter of civilians. ...

Secretary of State John Kerry said recently "the opposition needs more help," signaling the administration is moving toward a major policy shift. But that still leaves American policy far too vague. It's time for the administration to stop mincing words and speak clearly about U.S. willingness to provide direct assistance, including military aid, to Syrian insurgents. ...

- The Miami Herald

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Stop mincing words on Syrian aid

The Obama administration's emerging support for rebels in Syria is a welcome move, although it comes too late to help the estimated 70,000 people who have died in the past two years as President